Stand
by GoldenSunset
Summary: [JohnnyOC]When a fragile, mute redhead moves to Tulsa, she immediately becomes one of the gang. She's their little puppy. Chris's home life ain't dandy, but when things start heading for the worse her friends, can she pick up the pieces? [T to be safe]
1. Christine

**Stand** _When a fragile, mute redhead moves to Tulsa, she immediately becomes one of the gang. She's their little puppy. Chris's home life ain't dandy, but when things start heading for the worse her friends, can she pick up the pieces?_ Disclaimers: i own Christine, her family and the plot. The Outsiders (in all its glory) belongs to Hintion, Tulsa belongs to someone who ain't me, and Rascal Flatts owns the song Stand (I named this story after it)

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"Christine! Hurry up!" shouted a middle-aged man as he and his wife walked inside the split-level house. The house was older in design; a front porch with white fencing, a white wooden door and a screen door before that.

I nodded, though I knew he couldn't see me. I shifted my weight to my crutch and grabbing as many bags as I could out of the trunk of our blue pick-up. I stumbled a bit at first, but after a while I got it.

Then I got to the steps. I stared at them.

"Do you need help?" I squeaked and almost fell, but someone caught me. I looked up and saw a boy with dirty blonde hair and dark eyes looking down at me. I yelped and quickly stood up, but crumpled to the ground after a second.

"Shoot, did I scare ya?" he asked, bending down to get a better look, at me, I'm guessing. I shook my head no, but my body betrayed me as I started to shake.

"Sorry, man. Two-Bit ain't gonna hurt ya," said another boy, more my age. His voice was more believable than the other's, Two-Bit he said. He had brown hair thick with grease and pretty green-gray eyes. My eyes darted from him, to Two-Bit and then to the boy who hadn't said anything.

I quickly moved to sit on my knee with my bad leg lying on the green grass. I brought my hands to my chest and began to sign, hoping he would understand. As I was signing my message, I was watching him for a reaction. I was trying to say that help would be nice, since I couldn't do much with my leg.

As I was signing to him, the boy looked shocked. He was frantically looking at me, and my hands. I guess he was wondering why him. His black eyes showed how confused he was. Once I saw that, my signing slowed to a stop. My blue eyes looked sadly into his black ones for a moment before I looked away.

"Hey! What's taking so long?!" shouted a female voice that was accompanied by footsteps on the wooden floor. I flinched and looked toward the front door. My Ma, a middle-aged woman with ratty brown hair and green eyes walked through the door wearing a long skirt and a Beatles band shirt. Her mood changed when she saw Two-Bit and the other two boys.

"And who are you three?" she asked sweetly with a false smile on her face. "I'm sorry if my impudent daughter was bugging you."

"Not at all. We were actually the ones bugging her," said Two-Bit with a grin. "By the way, I'm Two-Bit Mathews."

"And I'm Ponyboy Curtis and this is Johnny Cade," answered the other boy.

"Ponyboy, huh?"

"Yes, ma'am." Ponyboy sounded very proud of his name.

"That is, indeed a very original name." My Ma smirked and ran her fingers through her brown hair.

"Well, my father was a very original person," answered Ponyboy. He was trying to smile, but my mother made it hard. It was obvious she thought his name was ridiculous. She turned to me.

"And why are you just sitting there like a lump? Hurry up and unload the truck!" Her voice was filled with venom. I grabbed my crutch and scrambled to my feet. I would have fell again, if Ponyboy hadn't caught me.

"Whoa, now," he said, helping me steady myself. I gave him a quick smile before I grabbed the bags and tried to get up the stairs.

"Don't you think you are being a bit hard on the poor girl?" asked Two-Bit.

"Nah. She gets what she deserves." My Ma, said as she watched me struggle up the stairs. I did my best to get up them, and after a couple minutes I got it. I placed the bags down in the entryway and hobbled out the door to grab more.

As I made my way, slowly down the sidewalk, Two-Bit stopped me. "No, way. You're going to hurt yourself. You go inside and sit down or sit out here." I looked up at him. And since he was bigger then me, I listened. I looked at my Ma who was glaring harshly at me and I decided not to go into the house. I hobbled over to the wired fence and fallowed it to the grass, laying my crutch down beside me and my legs stuck out to the side.

"Johnny, go sit with her. Me and Pony'll get the bags," Two-Bit waved toward me and I saw Johnny look at me. Our eyes connected, but I looked away quickly. I heard him walked toward me, but he didn't sit down. Looking up at him, I saw him watching Ponyboy and Two-Bit carrying in my bag and more of my parent's bags. I reached into the back pocket of my jeans and pulled out a small notepad and I always have a pen taped on my crutch. I quickly scribbled something on the paper, my handwriting ain't too good. I wrote, 'Sorry about before. I thought, since you didn't talk you knew sign language. I'm very sorry I scared you, really I am.' Then, I got Johnny's attention the only way I could: I tugged at his jeans. He looked down at me, with the same expression before when I tried signing. He saw the notebook I held up to him and he read it.

"I-its ok," Johnny said. His voice was light and soft, but it displayed how nervous he was. When you just look at him, you see this tough, _tuff_ Greaser hood or possibly a JD but when he talks, he's nothing like that. He's just a kid who has had a couple tough brakes in life... like the rest of us. He handed me back my notebook, and I fingered it, trying to think of what to do next. I knew about the whole Grease/Soc thing. I grew up here, moved, then came back.

"So, You don't talk?" asked a deep voice from behind us, suddenly. Both me and Johnny almost jumped out of our skin. I heard Ponyboy say, "Glory, Two-Bit! Scare 'em to death!" with a bit of laugher in his voice. Clutching my shirt, trying to calm my rapidly beating heart, and nodded, affirming Two-Bit's previous statement.

"Why?" he asked. I shook my head 'no'. I scribbled, "sorry," tugged at Johnny's jeans again and pointed to Two-Bit when he looked at me. Johnny took the notebook and handed it to Two-Bit. He grinned widely, "nah, it's nothin'," then propped my notebook on my head. I smiled and took it back. "So, what are ya doin' later, little girl?" he asked. I notice Ponyboy and Johnny giving him a look. I scribbled, 'nothing. Why?' on the notebook that was now covered in my sentences. "Wonderin' if ya wanted to come on over to Pony's place later and meet the gang." 'Gang?'

"There nice people, um… We never got your name?" said Ponyboy. He was standing in front of me and Johnny and Two-Bit was behind us. I quickly scribbled 'Christine' larger than the other words and held it up. Johnny had to lean forward to see it because I held it out so Ponyboy could see. Two-Bit was trying to lean over the fence to see it.

"Christine?" asked Ponyboy. I nodded meekly, looking at the ground and lowering the notebook. Then I felt someone ruffle my hair. Their hand was heavy. I looked up to see Two-Bit grinning down at me. I smiled back.

"Can I see your notebook and pen?" he asked and I handed him them. I watched him write something down and hand them back to me. I looked at it. He had very messy handwriting, worse than my own and he had an address written on it that was circled and directions to get there. Quick instructions. Just street names and left or right. "Go there at four. Ok, Chrissie?" he asked with a goofy grin. I nodded.

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So... uh, how was it? not too bad, right? haha. well... um... **reviews are welcome!** I'll update when I get the chance. 


	2. The Curtis House

**Stand**

_When a fragile, mute redhead moves to Tulsa, she immediately becomes one of the gang. She's their little puppy. Chris's home life ain't dandy, but when things start heading for the worse her friends, can she pick up the pieces?_ thanks for the reviews! Tikaani Spirit, SmexiiHoesher, princessXOSparkle, DuMbBrUnEtTexox, OhhGeezz., ANGELMEGAN, waterpolo1, Cade'sGirl 

Disclaimers: I don't own The Outsiders, the city of Tulsa, the song Stand, or a banana. I own Christine, her family, and the plot.

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It was getting close to four. I pulled on a clean pair of jeans, carefully over my bad leg. They were a bit big on me, but not that bad. I pulled on a long sleeve sweatshirt that fully covered my upper body and arms and tied a black ribbon in my hair to hold it back.

I quietly snuck out of the house, gripping nervously on my crutch. Once I stepped out side, I bumped into someone. Slowly, I looked up, terrified that I had been caught but I saw Two-Bit grinning down at me, and I couldn't help but to smile back.

"Hey. Came to walk you over, little missy." Two-Bit grinned wider. He took a good look at me. "Why are you wearing that sweatshirt? Its kinda big." Again, I pulled out my notebook from my back pocket and wrote, 'Its my only sweatshirt. Should we start going to Ponyboy's?'

"Alright." Two-Bit took my crutch, I gasped and tried my best to stand up, but I was wobbling terribly. Two-Bit, with his other arm scooped me up and started to walk away from my house. "Hey, Johnnykid, Pony, I got her. We can go." I heard him say. I looked over and saw Johnny and Ponyboy looking at us.

"Man, girl! How much do ya weigh?" asked Two-Bit, after a moment or so of silence. Ponyboy glared at him.

I hastily wrote '70 pounds. Do I weigh too much?'

Two-Bit screeched to a stop. "70 pounds?!" By then, my ears and face were really warm. "You're kidding right?" I shook my head. He whistled. "Man, Darry'll be surprised. He'll feed ya, girl." Two-Bit started walking. No one said anything for the rest of the walk, but I know Ponyboy and Johnny were looking at me. Why did I tell them? Why couldn't I have lied? Or kept quiet? I gripped Two-Bit's shirt tighter and covered my face in it.

"Hey, Chris, we're here. I'm going to put you down." Two-Bit sat me down at the top step of the porch and Ponyboy handed me my crutch. Ponyboy? I didn't realize he had it. I smiled at him, a silent thank-you and he smiled back. Him and Johnny helped me stand up and get into the house.

"Darry! We're back," said Ponyboy, as he led me to a spot on the couch and took my crutch and leaned it at the end of the couch.

"The was quick. The boys aren't here yet," said a teenaged-boy walk into the room. He pulled on a white T-shirt. His eyes found me. "And you must be the famous Christine? Pony, Johnny and Two-Bit been talkin' 'bout ya. I'm Darry, Pony's older brother." I smiled and waved.

Ponyboy's POV

Soon, I heard people walking up to the door and knew instantly it was the rest of the gang. Besides the fact I could hear Soda and Dally laugh and Steve's voice. I looked over to Chris, but she was too busy with Two-Bit to notice. They get along really well… I never knew Two-Bit Mathews to befriend some one so quickly. Or Johnny. He seemed really comfortable with Christine.

"Hey, I'm back Darry!" shouted Soda, getting the attention of not only Darry, but also Johnny, Two-Bit and Christine. He startled her so bad; she was clinging on to Two-Bit.

Steve Jumped onto the couch, a little ways away from me, fallowed by Soda. Dally just stood there.

"'Ey, who's the redhead?" asked Steve taking notice to the 13 year-old clinging to Two-Bit.

"You into redheads now, Two-Bit?" laughed Soda.

"Knock it off!" he said, "You scared her. She was fine a minute ago."

"Guys, that's Christine, our new neighbor," I said, introducing Chris because I knew she wasn't going to herself. She was too frightened to let go of Two-Bit.

"Ah, so we finally meet the famous Christine. They've been talkin' 'bout ya all day, ya know." Soda patted her head, getting her to look up at him.

"So, how old are ya?" asked Dally. Christine removed one hand from Two-Bit's shirt and pulled out her notepad from her sweatshirt pocket. Chris rested her head against him, and wrote down something. She held it up a little.

"13? Ha, you're not the youngest one anymore, Pony!" laughed Dally.

"Guys, the food's done," announced Darry from the kitchen. Everyone filed in, except Christine.

"Are you coming, Chris?" I asked. She shook her head 'no'. "Why not. You hungry?" Again, she shook her head.

"Come on, Chrissie!" urged Two-bit, sticking his head out of the kitchen.

"We have more than enough," added Soda. She gave in, grabbed her crutch and fallowed me into the kitchen.

"What do you want, Christine?" asked Darry, holding a clean plate and fork for Christine. She looked down. After a couple minutes, Darry chose for her and led to the table. The boys made room for her. Steve sat on the couch and Two-Bit on the floor. I sat next to Christine, Johnny next to me, Soda, then Darry then ending with Dally.

I noticed Christine wasn't eating; just moving the food Darry gave her around on the plate. I looked at her. "Are you ok, Chris?" I noticed everyone stop and look at her.

"You should eat somethin'," said Darry.

"You're so skinny…" added Dally. Chris's cheeks turned pink. I think she was trying to cover it up with that oversized sweatshirt.

"It's not going to hurt you. Its just chicken," said Soda.

"As long as it wasn't cooked by Soda here!" laughed Steve. Soda punched him.

"Shut up, Steve. My cookin ain't that bad! Ya'll eat it."

"Yeah, because it's that or nothin'!" joked Steve. Everyone knew Sodapop's cooking was good. Darry's was better but that was beside the point.

"C'mon. You need to eat, Christine. It looks like you haven't eaten in days," commented Darry with a firm voice. It seems he has already taken on the role of brother or parent or somethin' for her. But, it was true. I hadn't noticed it before, but Christine did look starved and tired. I guess Two-Bit or Johnny hadn't noticed either because they were looking at her worriedly too.

"You don't have to eat all of it. Just a little." Christine looked nervously at Darry, who smiled softly when he saw her look at him. She looked at Two-Bit, then Johnny and I, then the others. We all were givin' her comforting looks and I guess it worked because she took her fork timidly in her hands and fiddled with it until she held it properly. She started eating. Chris looked really uncomfortable chewing her food.

Christine ate about 1/5 of the food before she started looking extremely uncomfortable. Suddenly, her eyes widened and she covered her mouth quickly. Chris jumped up and ran to the bathroom, leaving her crutch behind. I got really scared. What was wrong? I looked at Darry and the others, and then we all fallowed Christine hastily. Then I got really, really worried. She was throwing up.

Two-Bit rushed in, pushing past us, and kneeled down beside her, pulling her short red hair back and whispered something to her.

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eh, it seems Keith likes Chris a lot. And so quickly too. Well, I would have gotten bored if it went any slower. And somethin's up with Chris! I know what it is though! **review and I'll continue!!**


	3. Mom and Dad

**Stand**  
_When a fragile, mute redhead moves to Tulsa, she immediately becomes one of the gang. She's their little puppy. Chris's home life ain't dandy, but when things start heading for the worse her friends, can she pick up the pieces? _

Hey, I'm back. you might notice I changed my penname. I'm sorry, it just got a bit old and overused. I use it for everyother site. So now I'm GoldenSunset. Also, another thing, its a short update. Its late, and I just think its a good spot to stop. And since I can't update tomorrow, I'm doing it tonight. I hope you all like it. I've been getting a lot of good reviews, thank you all!!!

Disclaimers: I don't own The Outsiders, Tulsa, Stand (song), or Ralph Macchio. I do own Christine, her family, and the plot.

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After about five minutes, Christine was able to stop. Soda gave her an extra toothbrush so she could get rid of the taste and Steve brought her her crutch. We left her alone so she could straighten up. I sat on the couch, staring at the floor trying to think of something, anything that could have possibly made her throw up. I saw Johnny sit next to me.

"What do you think is wrong, Pony?" he asked quietly, voicing all of our worries.

Two-Bit jumped out of his seat when he saw Christine hobble slowly toward us. He walked over to her, and ran his fingers through her hair. And she started crying. Chris dropped her crutch and clinged to Two-Bit. Now I was really scared. Two-Bit picked her up and carried her to the couch. We made room for her. He sat Chris in between Johnny and me.

"Are you ok, Chrissie?" he asked. Two-Bit was being serious. Christine was shaking and she wiped her eyes with her hands. She nodded.

"You gave us quite a scare there, Missy. Are you sure everythin's ok?" asked Sodapop, as he climbed onto the back of the couch and sat behind Christine.

Laughing was heard outside, then the door opened, and in walked in a man and a woman. They were an older couple, and their faces were soft and gentle. The woman's hair was cut short and curly and the man's was disappearing.

"Hey, Mom, Dad," Darry said, looking away from Christine and the group. The woman smiled. She saw Christine, then hit her husband in a playful mannor.

"oh, no Darryl! They're dragging girls into their little group now!" Her voice was filled with laughter, like she didn't mind their position.

"Ma, this is Chirstine. Our new neighbor." Sodapop ruffled up Christine's short orange hair getting a small giggle out of the girl. She hit his knee lightly, but Soda acted like he was punched by Superman or something. He jumped over Christine and Two-Bit dodged, landing on the floor and rolled around in mock pain holding his knee.

"If that girl's tap hurt you, son, you need to get tougher," teased his father. Sodapop grinned up at him. Everyone seemed to forget about Chris's episode moments before.

"I see you guys ate. And going by the fact that the food isn't some weird color… I bet Darrel or Ponyboy cooked," the woman said from the kitchen. She started to pile the plates in the sink and started the water. She looked at the one plate that still had food on it.

"Looks like someone didn't finish." The laughing died and Christine leaned against Pony.

"It's nothing, Mom. Christine wasn't that hungry," Darry said glancing over his shoulder at Chris. His mother stood for a moment, looking at each of her son's, then their friends, and then Christine.

"Alright. But, honey, if you get hungry later, it'll be in the fridge," she said, then walked into the kitchen and wrapped it up and put it in the fridge.

"It's a bit late. Do you're parents know you're here?" asked Darryl. Christine perked up and looked at Ponyboy and Two-Bit worriedly.

"We'll walk you home," said Two-Bit, standing up and grabbing her crutch.

"You comin' Johnnycake?" asked Ponyboy as he watched Christine stand up with the aid of Two-Bit and her crutch.

"Yeah…"

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Well, there you go. Yeah, and if you didn't know, Darryl is their father and I haven't got a name for their mother. I'm guessing Darryl is his name because Darry's full name in the book was Darryl Shaynne Curtis, Jr. **Review** and tell me what you think their mother's name should be and what you thought of this. I talk too much, huh? 


	4. School

**Stand**

_When a fragile, mute redhead moves to Tulsa, she immediately becomes one of the gang. She's their little puppy. Chris's home life ain't dandy, but when things start heading for the worse her friends, can she pick up the pieces?_

I'm sorry I haven't updated in a while.Stupid writer's block. This is what I have, and it may take me a while to update again, just be paticent with me. well, I hope you enjoy this!!

**Disclaimers:** I don't own anymore than the rest of you.

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"So…" Two-Bit started. They were more than half way to Chris's house and the entire walk was silent. Two-Bit had the lead, then Christine and Johnny and then Ponyboy.

"You're going to Will Rogers High right?" asked Ponyboy, walking on Christine's other side trying to lighten the mood a bit. She nodded and smiled.

"We go there too, right Johnny?"

He offered a small smile. "Yeah. When is your first day?"

Christine stopped for a moment to scribble down 'Monday' before continuing on her path.

On the front porch, they told her they'd pick her up on Monday and show her around school. Christine waved goodbye and hobbled into the house.

Monday

Christine's POV

I waited outside for Johnny, Pony and Two-Bit to come and get me. Today was my first day of school and I was more than nervous. Soon, I saw them. They were running a race I guess and Ponyboy was winning. Two-Bit got here second and then Johnny.

"Hey, you ready?" asked Two-Bit after catching his breath. I nodded and grabbed my books. After we set out, Johnny quietly took my books. I looked at him. He wouldn't look at me though.

After school

I didn't have a class without one of them, and I liked that. I had a lot of classes with Johnny. I like that a lot. Well, um, I mean because he's really nice to me and he helps me a lot. My classes scattered the board, from Freshman level to Junior. I have only one Junior class though. A lot of my 10th grade classes I have with Johnny.

During lunch hour we walked to a convenience store and ate there. I just got a coke and no one really argued with me. I wouldn't be able to eat that food anyway. And I'm glad none of them brought up my episode at Ponyboy's house. I wouldn't want to tell them anyway. I'd probably be sent to a home somewhere and not see them again. I don't want that. Not after my sister left for college.

"You ok, Chris?" Ponyboy was looking at me, while drinking his Pepsi. I nodded and smiled. We were sitting outside by the store. I was on the sidewalk, next to Johnny on the right and Ponyboy on the left. Two-Bit was standing next to Johnny and leaning against the wall. He was looking at me now. I tried to smile as I scooted closer to Johnny, hoping they'd lay off. I was fine, I really was.

"We better be getting back. There's not much time left of our lunch hour," Johnny stated.

"yeah, lets head back," Ponyboy stood and help me up. We walked back, listening to Two-Bit's recent jokes and stories.

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Well, thats it. Sorry its so short, but I felt bad for not updating. Actually, it was thanks to Outlook who reviewed recently and asked me if I was going to continue, so this is dedicated to her. Thanks a lot! Please **review**!! 


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